Hope
by SkullszEyes
Summary: Joseph Oda wanders through an endless loop, and before he could do something drastic, he gains a little hope.


Deep in the recesses of the tunnels, Joseph Oda was on his knees, and he was screaming with his hands covering his head. He sucked in a breath, his scream stalled in his throat and his hands pressed hard into his face, curling slightly to rid of himself of the sickness that infested this place he was in.

There were too many of them, the monsters that moved from the shadows, the voices that came from the walls, the hope that dwindled from his fingertips. He couldn't even will himself to cry, no tears would spring loose. He was simply lost, trying to stop the pain from splintering his body.

He sucked in a breath as he caught himself from falling forward. His body shuddered, squeezing his eyes, he gasped for air. He could feel it, the pain that shot through him, the agony, his sight blurring before him, he'd lose himself again in an unrecognizable place.

Blinking, he sat back on his knees and glanced around. His glasses were still on his nose, and he was thankful they weren't gone.

"Sebastian?" he called, but all he could hear was his own echo. "Kidman?"

Nothing. The same loneliness that caved into his chest surrounded him. He checked for his gun and the bullets within. He had enough for now, if anything came after him. He rose to his feet, even how shaky he was, he had to keep moving, he had to find the others.

Were the others in quiet places like he was? Did it drive them crazy? He found himself wondering that, hoping that they were okay in this insanity. He wanted to believe that he could eventually escape.

He didn't know how long he was walking for, and he didn't know when the tunnels would end. Sometimes there was light, and sometimes he could hear growling close by. Which made him take out his gun and aim, waiting for the inevitable.

It never came.

It was mocking him, the sounds, it was making him paranoid. He held onto his gun, the feel of it was like a comfort to him. He searched each room he entered, looking around, waiting for that one moment that could give him an out.

Even the episodes didn't come. He was scared of that the most. The changes were horrific, and what it made him do to his friends. He slowed his pace and stared at the ground. He couldn't do what he did, not again.

"Where are they?" he asked, trying to rid himself of the thoughts, the ones that went down a dark path. He wanted to be better than that, for Sebastian and Kidman, but he was slowly losing hope that he wasn't going to escape this nightmare.

After awhile of walking, he heard a noise, a scream coming from down the hall. It sounded like Kidman, so he went running, yelling her name, hoping she was there. She was. In the middle of a room, standing and staring at the wall.

"Kidman," he said, relieved, "I've been looking all over for you." He stepped closer, glancing around the room but it was empty like all the rest. "Where's Sebastian?"

Joseph furrowed his brows, confused why she wasn't responding. He stepped closer, his hand tightening around the gun and as he reached for her, his hand went right through her shoulder and her body disappeared.

He blinked, his mouth parted and his heart hurt. He looked around the room again, breathing heavily. She wasn't there. Some part of this sick machination was playing tricks on him, making him think he wasn't alone, but he was. He was still alone, surrounded by nothing but walls and empty rooms.

Joseph blinked a few times before rubbing his eyes. They were wet with tears, and he had the urge to scream again, but it wouldn't come. He was already exhausted.

"They're not here," he said, walking on and on through the rooms, passing each one and ignoring the sounds of the monsters, not bothering to check the rooms. He couldn't feel anything to really care if he was attacked, his loneliness was getting to him.

"They're not here," he said when he came to another empty room, and this time he leaned against the wall and stood there in the dark. He clenched his hand around the gun and stared down at it. Shuddering, he opened his mouth and placing the barrel inside.

All he had to do was pull the trigger.

He closed his eyes, and thought of Sebastian and Kidman, his hand shook and with one tear rolling down his face. He threw the gun across the room and sank to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest, he leaned his head against his hands. The tears rolled down his face, anger at himself for not being able to do it, and anger for being stuck in this endless loop.

"I sank to that bottomless pit as you did." The voice came from the darkness and Joseph stood, looking around but saw nothing. "There were so many times when I had the chance to do it, to free myself of this burden."

Then he was there, across from him in the darkness wearing a burned coat. He walked closer to Joseph.

He couldn't do anything to defend himself.

The man appeared in front of him, grabbing Joseph by the neck and shoving him against the wall. "I was close as you were, ready for death to take me. The insanity almost broke my resolve to do what I pleased. I chose revenge over death, even how much I craved it."

Joseph grabbed the man's wrists, trying to wrench his hand away from his neck. He kicked the man and shoved him back. Joseph choked before moving to the left to try and grab the gun, but the man was across the room and was kneeling down.

He went completely still, his teeth clenching as he watched the man pick up the gun.

"Little Joseph," the man said, a familiar tone in his voice, "can you live with yourself once I'm done with you? I don't think you can. Even your friends have forgotten about you."

Joseph stared at the gun instead of absorbing what the man said. He couldn't think too much about it. "What do you want?"

"Me? I think it's what you want, an escape from this place, this endless loop." He tossed the gun at Joseph and when he caught it, he turned it and fired. Except the man was gone, and there was a crackling come from the walls around him. Joseph sprinted out of the room as it caved into itself.

Panting, he looked down at the gun. Could he really do it? Kill himself.

"Joseph, Kidman, where are you?"

Joseph raised his head at the familiar voice before putting the gun back into his holster. He knew it might be a trick, that the echo could be nothing, but he had to have a little hope that he could escape.


End file.
